FAQs
About ASA
When was the ASA established?
What are the ASA’s responsibilities?
What do the Codes cover?
Who writes the Codes?
Who are ASA Council?
What are the ASA’s powers?
Who can fine or take legal action against advertisers?
What do we regulate online?
How is the ASA funded?
What is the role of Government in ad regulation and how do other statutory regulators fit in?
General enquiries
Can I lodge my support for an advertisement that you are investigating?
Can I object to an ASA adjudication?
How can the ASA ban an ad after only one complaint?
Can the ASA look into my complaint if I find an ad irritating?
Can the ASA look into complaints about the amount of advertising?
How can I complain about the ASA?
Can I ask the ASA whether an ad is in breach of the Code?
How much does the ASA cost the taxpayer?
I have responded to an ad and money was taken out of my account without my consent, can you get it back?
I want to request information from the ASA under the Freedom of Information Act, can I do so?
About ASA
When was the ASA established?
The ASA, the independent UK advertising watchdog, was established in 1962 by the advertising industry in order to adjudicate on complaints about non-broadcast advertising.
In November 2004, the communications regulator, Ofcom, contracted out day-to-day responsibility for regulating TV and radio ads to the ASA. This created the one-stop shop giving the public and advertisers, for the first time, a single regulator for advertising.
More information can be found in history of regulation.
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What are the ASA’s responsibilities?
The ASA is responsible for regulating the content of advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing in the UK. We make sure advertising standards are kept high by administering the Advertising Codes.
The ASA responds to concerns from members of the public and industry about advertisements that may be misleading, harmful or offensive.
We also conduct pro-active surveys of sensitive sectors to monitor compliance rates with the Codes and to act as a deterrent to bad practice and an encouragement to good practice.
By independently administering the Advertising Codes we aim to maintain consumer trust in advertising and a level-playing field amongst business.
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What do the Codes cover?
The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP Code) applies to advertisements across media including newspapers, magazines, billboards, posters, leaflets, mailings, e-mails, texts and on UK based company websites.
The UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code) applies to the content and scheduling of television and radio advertisements (including teleshopping). It also covers programme sponsorship credits on radio and television services but complaints about these are handled by Ofcom.
Find out more in what we cover.
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Who writes the Codes?
The Advertising Codes are written, revised and enforced by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP).
CAP and BCAP’s membership comprises organisations that represent advertisers, agencies, media space owners, direct marketers and broadcasters.
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Who are ASA Council?
ASA Council is the body that adjudicates on complaints about advertisements. They make the final decision on whether ads breach the Codes.
ASA Council is made up of 15 people, appointed by the ASA Chairman, Lord (Chris) Smith, with two-thirds of the members independent of the advertising industry. The industry members bring valuable experience and knowledge of advertising to the table but cannot comment on cases where they have a conflict of interest.
ASA Council members serve three-year terms for a maximum of six years. They are appointed following public advertisement.
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What are the ASA’s powers?
Our primary sanction is to have advertisements that we judge to be in breach of the Codes withdrawn and prevent them from appearing again. In the vast majority of cases advertisers agree to withdraw their ads following an upheld ASA ruling.
Rulings about TV and radio ads are followed immediately under the broadcasters’ licences.
For non-broadcast advertising, on the rare occasions that an advertiser refuses to comply with an ASA ruling CAP can impose further sanctions to bring to bring them into line.
The ASA is a non-statutory body so we do not have the power to fine or take advertisers to court.
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In exceptional circumstances where an advertiser has so seriously or repeatedly breached the Codes for misleading advertising or a broadcaster continues to run problem ads then the ASA can refer to its legal backstops.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is the ASA’s legal backstop for non-broadcast advertising and can initiate statutory interventions against advertisers that fail to co-operate with the self-regulatory system.
Ofcom is the ASA’s co-regulatory partner for broadcast ads and the ASA can refer problem broadcasters to them for consideration of sanctions including fines and revoking licences.
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What do we regulate online?
The non-broadcast CAP Code applies to advertising online in paid-space such as pop-up and banner ads, virals and paid-search as well as sales promotions wherever they appear.
It also applies to advertising in non-paid space on UK based company websites and in other third party space under their control such as social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
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How is the ASA funded?
The system is funded by a levy on advertising spend. This is collected at arms-length on behalf of the ASA by two bodies: the Advertising Standards Board of Finance (Asbof) and the Broadcast Advertising Standards Board of Finance (Basbof).
The levy is set at 0.1% of advertising space costs and 0.2% of Mailsort contracts.
The levy is collected at arms-length to maintain the independence of the system. It ensures that the system is properly funded, whilst ensuring that ASA decisions are not influenced by those who may or may not be funding the system.
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What is the role of Government in ad regulation and how do other statutory regulators fit in?
The ASA is independent of Government. But the Advertising Codes are underpinned by consumer protection legislation and reflect UK and EU law so any decisions we make reflect this.
CAP and BCAP maintain an open dialogue with Government about its views on advertising and the principles of good regulation.
The ASA has a co-regulatory partnership with Ofcom for TV and radio advertising. BCAP is responsible for writing and maintaining the Broadcast Advertising Codes, but any major changes to the rules must be approved by Ofcom.
The ASA has a close relationship with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which serves as our legal backstop power for misleading non-broadcast ads.
We work with statutory sector regulators in areas where there is, or might be, regulatory overlap. Such bodies include the Financial Services Authority, the Food Standards Agency, the Gambling Commission and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
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General enquiries
Can I lodge my support for an advertisement that you are investigating?
There is no mechanism for registering your support for an ad that the ASA is investigating. The ASA responds to complaints from members of the public or industry about ads that they believe are misleading, harmful or offensive. It is our role to establish whether an ad is in breach of the Codes not to monitor levels of public support for an ad.
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Can I object to an ASA adjudication?
You can send us your comments about our rulings: we always welcome the feedback we receive.
However, if you are not party to the original case, i.e. if you are not the advertiser or a complainant, then the ASA cannot enter into extensive correspondence with you about an individual investigation. Our rulings put on the public record, in full, the details of how and why we reached our decision. Objecting to an ASA ruling will not change the decision.
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How can the ASA ban an ad after only one complaint?
The ASA does not play a numbers game. If an ad is found in breach of the rules it is in breach irrespective of how many people have complained about it.
It can take just one complaint for the ASA to launch an investigation, the result of which can be that an ad has to be withdrawn. The ASA considers the validity of the complaint and measures the ad against the Codes when assessing whether an ad is likely to be misleading, harmful or offensive.
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Can the ASA look into my complaint if I find an ad irritating?
Although some people do not like certain advertisements purely because they find them irritating, it does not provide strong enough grounds to ban an ad. Therefore, the ASA cannot look into complaints on that basis.
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Can the ASA look into complaints about the amount of advertising?
The ASA is responsible for regulating the content of advertisements. The amount of advertising in non-broadcast media is not subject to regulation. The amount of advertising allowed on TV is subject to the Rules on the Amount and Distribution of Advertising which are enforced by Ofcom.
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How can I complain about the ASA?
In the first instance you should write to our Chief Executive, Guy Parker (postal address is available on Contact us page) outlining your concerns.
If you wish to complain about the ASA in relation to its role regulating TV or radio advertising, you may contact Ofcom.
The ASA is not formally overseen by a particular Government department, but if you wish to complain about advertising regulation in general, and you feel that we cannot be of assistance, then you may wish to write to your local MP.
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Can I ask the ASA whether an ad is in breach of the Code?
You can, but, the ASA can only establish whether an ad is in breach of the Codes by going through due process, i.e. receiving and investigating a complaint. You will need to lodge a complaint about an ad, via our online complaints form, by letter or by phone, in order for us to do this.
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How much does the ASA cost the taxpayer?
The ASA does not cost the taxpayer a penny. We are funded by an arms-length levy on advertising spend.
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I have responded to an ad and money was taken out of my account without my consent, can you get it back?
Unfortunately, no; we regulate the content of advertisements only. If money has been taken from your account without your permission, it is important that you contact your bank straight away and resolve the problem with them. Some banks mistakenly refer their customers to us, if they think that the problem is about an advertisement.
The ASA does not have any powers to stop standing orders or direct debits on your behalf.
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I want to request information from the ASA under the Freedom of Information Act, can I do so?
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as it is not a body listed by the Act as being a public authority. The ASA is independent from Government and receives no funding from the taxpayer.
Although we are not required to provide information, we will always try to be as helpful and transparent as we can when answering queries and provide detailed information and responses wherever possible.
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